SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. UHURU KENYATTA, C.G.H., PRESIDENT
AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF
KENYA DURING 2013 LABOUR DAY CELEBRATIONS, UHURU PARK GROUNDS,
NAIROBI, 1ST MAY, 2013
I am pleased to salute all Kenyan workers, wherever they may be, as we join the
rest of the world in marking this year’s Labour Day.
This is an important day when, as a country, we celebrate the contribution made by
our workers to the growth of our economy and the development of our country.
On this day, we also reflect on our performance in the labour sector and take stock
of the opportunities we can exploit to create more job opportunities and improve
the welfare of our workers.
I take this opportunity to appreciate all Kenyan workers within our borders and in
the diaspora for their contribution in national development. Your hard work has
made Kenya what it is today and brought prosperity and dignity to our great
country.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We celebrate this year’s Labour Day at a time when our country is facing serious
challenges in relation to labour and employment. At present, the number of new
entrants into the labour market is about 750,000 annually, while the economy is
only generating 500,000 jobs annually - most of which are in the informal sector.
Today, we also have 21 percent national underemployment; 40 percent total
unemployment and 70 percent unemployment among the youth. Clearly,
unemployment and poverty remain the greatest challenges facing our country.
The creation of productive, decent and sustainable employment opportunities will,
therefore, be a central policy priority of my Government.
In this regard, my Government will implement the National Employment Policy and
Strategy for Kenya which was approved by the Cabinet last year. This policy
outlines the strategic interventions to be made in key sectors of the economy that
have high-potential for job-creation, income generation and poverty reduction.
Through this policy, all major investments and projects in the country will be
subjected to an employment creation analysis to determine their employment
creation potential. In this regard, my office will require state departments to
conduct analysis to determine the number of jobs that that they will avail to our
youth. I call upon the National Assembly to expedite the enactment of the
National Employment Policy into a sessional paper in order to set this process in
motion.
As part of the commitment to employment creation, my Government will also
place special emphasis on investing in our youth in order to ensure their
employability. In this regard, we will seek to enhance collaboration and
partnerships between training institutions and industry so as to ensure that the
youth acquire skills that are relevant to the modern domestic and global labour
market.
I wish to emphasize that the economic, social and political pillars of our
development blueprint - Kenya Vision 2030 - are anchored on the existence of a
skillful, productive, competitive and adaptive human resource base. The
attainment of this Vision hinges on the extent to which the country is able to plan
and develop a human resource capable of responding to the rapidly industrializing
and globalizing economy. This underscores the need for an integrated approach
to our human resource development as we move to the knowledge and
technology-driven economy of the 21st Century.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our country has recently witnessed a wave of labour strikes in both the public and
private sectors. As a Government, we acknowledge the constitutional provision
that all workers are entitled to certain rights; including the right to reasonable
working conditions, fair remuneration and the right to be protected against
discriminatory practices. Today, I wish to affirm that my Government will
safeguard these rights in order for us to have a strong, motivated and productive
workforce, which is the bedrock upon which we shall build our national prosperity.
However, we must all remember that these rights carry with them certain
responsibilities which require workers and employers to consult and negotiate in
order to avoid industrial actions and ensure efficiencies in the labour market.
Indeed, industrial actions are not only costly to workers, employers and the State
but could also scare away both local and foreign investments.
My Government is committed to ensuring harmonious industrial relations. In this
connection, the Government is developing the Wages and Incomes Policy in order
to adequately address wages setting in the country in line with our Constitution.
Further, my Government will give full support to the actualization of an alternative
dispute resolution mechanism in order to speed up the resolution of disputes in
the country.
The alternative dispute resolution mechanism will supplement the current system
involving the Ministry of Labour and the Industrial Court, which is congested;
leading to delays and increased costs in settlement of labour disputes. I urge all
stakeholders to adhere to the laid down machinery in dispute resolution. These
initiatives should be cascaded down to our 47 counties where the majority of our
workers are based.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Due to the high levels of unemployment, Kenyans are increasingly seeking
employment opportunities beyond our borders. While this provides employment
opportunities and livelihoods to our people, we have also witnessed a number of
challenges. My Government will conclude bilateral agreements with key
destination countries to address these challenges, ensure orderly deployment of
skilled personnel, protect Kenyans working abroad and ensure our foreign
missions work to protect the rights of Kenyans working in their stations.
My Government has created a special unit to deal with matters of Kenyan workers
abroad. I urge Kenyans working and living abroad to continue investing and
putting their savings in Kenya’s financial institutions. I assure my fellow
countrymen that my Government is committed to protecting their rights and is
working towards developing facilitative mechanisms and procedures for Kenyans
seeking employment abroad. Further, guidelines on licensing of recruitment
agencies and vetting of foreign contracts of employment have been put in place to
protect Kenyans from possible exploitation.
Fellow Kenyans,
My Government is committed to expanding the scope and adequacy of social
benefits to cover more Kenyans. We are committed to ensuring that the poor are
cushioned and that all Kenyans live in dignity and are facilitated to exploit their
capabilities for social and economic development. We will strengthen social
security institutions in order to offer increased benefits and to ensure the
formulation of an appropriate policy, legislative and institutional framework that
will ensure the gradual actualization of the constitutional right to social security by
all Kenyans.
That is why I urge the National Assembly to also fast-track the enactment of the
National Social Security Bill. The National Social Security Fund should not only be a
guarantor of social justice in Kenya but also an engine of economic growth. Byusing the funds raised from the pension contributions of millions of Kenyans, NSSF
can invest in the housing, roads and infrastructure that our nation so desperately
needs – acting as the prime example of Kenyans investing in themselves and their
children’s future.
However, even while we implement these measures, Kenyans should bear in mind
that ultimately, we need to increase real income, rather than nominal income, by
diminishing the cost of living for Kenyans and ensuring that social security and
pension schemes are well structured and beneficial to our people. I wish to
emphasize that no economy can sustain high wages and salaries if it does not
address the issues of productivity and national competitiveness. Currently, our
national productivity and competitiveness are low by international standards. To
address this challenge, my Government will implement a national productivity
strategy to enhance and progressively measure our productivity and global
competitiveness.
Further, the culture of productivity and performance management target setting
must be embraced. Furthermore, wage determination should be based on
productivity, alongside other factors that ensure the welfare and morale of
workers. In addition, my Government has commenced the identification of
barriers to our national competitiveness. I also welcome the decision by the Ministry of Labour, COTU and Federation of
Kenyan Employers to urgently mount a conference on labour productivity and
national competitiveness.
In conclusion, my Government will step-up measures to ensure that unskilled and
other jobs that can be done by Kenyans will be limited to Kenyans. Additionally, in
our budget proposals submitted to Parliament yesterday, Kenyans will notice
deliberate and decisive strategies of my Government to significantly reduce the
cost of basic commodities such as food and medicine.
Finally, taking into account the needs of our lowest paid workers and cost of living
while ensuring a conducive environment for investment and job creation, my
Government has awarded a salary increment of 14 per cent on the minimum wages
which should be implemented with immediate effect.
Thank you and God bless
you all.